A fuzzy, greenish brown, bulbous organism is sending out warning signals via its noxious stench that wafts through the halls of Pinewood. In the name of science, biology teacher Kim Hudson is harboring what appears to be a secret virus in the back of her classroom. Fear, just like the virus, is bubbling and sprouting inside the students at Pinewood Upper Campus. 

   Hudson says the reason for breeding the virus is purely for educational purposes, but rumors have been floating around, and Hudson is unwilling to share too many details. It seems Hudson may have offered up Pinewood as a lab for the government to secretly work in to test this new virus, as after the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has been trying to gauge human response to viruses similar to that of COVID-19. 

   “I just. . . um, like science,” Hudson said. “I mean, yeah, it hasn’t really served a purpose in my lessons yet, but it’s all for educational purposes.”

   It is currently unclear whether or not this experiment has been sanctioned as an educational tool by the Pinewood administration. Either way, students are growing extremely wary. The virus is not subtle with its loud stench cramping the biology room. 

   Senior Anna Grillo, a previously keen biology student, has stopped showing up to Hudson’s class. 

   “I just finished watching ‘The Last of Us,’ and that thing growing in the back of the room makes my skin crawl,” Grillo said. 

   Students are fearful that media and reality may become too reminiscent of each other as the hit HBO show, “The Last of Us,” is super popular among students these days. The show darkly portrays an apocalyptic world where a fungus has taken over and rots peoples’ minds and bodies. The worry is that Hudson’s virus has a similar agenda. 

   There is still much to know about the life brewing in the back of Room 19, but Hudson is a beloved teacher, and we are hopeful there is a great payoff for this great risk. Still, maybe it’s best to play it safe and avoid exposure to the microorganism as much as possible.